There are only a few true 5-tool players in Major League Baseball. Those are guys who hit for power, hit for average, run well, play great defense, and have incredible arm strength. Fernando Tatis Jr. is a true 5-tool player and it's the last one on that list that helped the Padres win a series on Sunday afternoon.
Tatis Jr. made one of the best throws you'll see an outfielder make, unleashing a 99-MPH rocket in the 8th inning to cut down a runner at the plate and preserve a 5-4 Padres win over the Rays to cap a 4-2 homestand against two teams that were in the playoffs a year ago (more on that play in a minute).
Joe Musgrove got the start for he Friars. It's been said many times about Joe but every time you see it, it's still impressive. He might not have his best stuff. He might be struggling to find his command. But he is going to fight tooth and nail to keep his team in a ballgame.
Musgrove didn't have the prettiest outing against the Rays on Sunday afternoon at Petco Park. He hit two batters, walked another, gave up six hits, and found himself in a bases loaded, no outs jam against the highest scoring offense in Major League Baseball. But, like an NFL defense that bends and doesn't break, Joe limited the damage every time and escaped with a win.
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Musgrove finished the day with two runs allowed in 6.0 innings and only struck out one batter. His best work came in the 4th inning. Luke Raley and Randy Arozarena singled then Isaac Paredes drew a walk to load the bases with nobody out. That's the kind of situation the Rays usually go crazy in.
Musgrove got Josh Lowe to pop up on the infield, allowed a sacrifice fly to Manuel Margot, and grabbed a weak comebacker off the bat of Taylor Walls to allow just one run. For the second straight day the Padres offense found ways to score without really hitting the ball that hard.
Trent Grisham led off the 3rd inning with a double and went to 3rd on a Tatis Jr. single. Then the fun began. Juan Soto his a dribbler in front of home plate. Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt tried to get the lead runner but Tatis Jr. got a fantastic jump and beat the throw, which Wander Franco dropped anyways. Grisham scored from 1st base and when the ball scooted into shallow left field Tatis Jr. took off for 3rd, where 3rd base coach Matt Williams threw up his hands for the runner to stop.
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He briefly hesitated then took off towards home, catching Franco by surprise again and forcing a throw so wide the Padres speedster didn't even have to slide. Two runs scored on a ball that traveled about five feet and the Padres had a 2-1 lead. Manny Machado followed with a sacrifice fly to score Soto, who advanced to third base during all the commotion, and make it a 3-1 game.
San Diego's other two runs came on an RBI double by Rougned Odor in the 4th and a run-scoring single from Machado in the 5th. After that we got some drama courtesy of the officiating crew.
In the 7th inning Steven Wilson got Franco to offer at strike three that would have ended the inning. Franco was even walking back to the dugout when home plate umpire Mike Muchlinski checked to make sure Franco swung. At 3rd base, Jim Wolf inexplicably said no swing. Padres manager Bob Melvin leapt to the top of the dugout steps to voice his opposition to the decision and was immediately thrown out by Wolf.
Bo-Mel made the trip to the back of the infield to get his money's worth of telling Wolf how awful the call was before heading back down the clubhouse steps to watch the rest of the game from the clubhouse. On the way he was given a loud ovation from the 44,404 in attendance on Father's Day. It's the 28th sellout of the year at Petco Park, breaking the single-season record they set ... on Saturday night.
This Rays team has made a habit of late-game comebacks and they mounted another one on Sunday. Nick Martinez came on to work the 8th inning. Arozarena hit a grounder up the middle and off the glove of Odor, a play he should have made but it was ruled a hit. Paredes struck out but Lowe and Margot singled make it a 5-3 game. Pinch-hitter Harold Ramirez hit a flare that landed just out of Odor's reach in shallow right field to make it 5-4.
That's when having a right fielder with a howitzer attached to his body comes in handy.
Bethancourt singled to right field. Tatis Jr. charged and threw a 99-MPH strike to Austin Nola, who got the tag down on Margot for an out that would have been the tying run. Tatis Jr. already leads all big league outfielders in defensive runs saved but none of them have been as big as this one. Martinez got Yandy Diaz to ground out to shortstop to end the inning. Josh Hader handled the 9th inning for his 18th save of the year.
Up next the Padres hit the road for four games in San Francisco against a red-hot Giants team that's won seven straight and just completed a sweep of the Dodgers in Los Angeles.
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